Nomadland won the Golden Lion, the top prize of the 77th Venice Film Festival. If its premiere reception in a half-filled Sala Grande (due to the Corona rules) could be called ecstatic excitement with rip-roaring applause, this was it. It helped that the film is directed by the talented Chloe Zhao and stars Frances McDormand, both industry darlings. The Coppa Volpi for best actress went to Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman, a choice many reviewers privately wondered about. The film, not the recipient. Many felt that Kirby’s performance in Mona Fastvold’s Padrenostro got a rather lukewarm reception.

Wasteland, the gritty love story about a factory shutdown and the worker who tries to save the woman he loves. The jury under president Claire Denis, herself a Venice veteran, spread out the rest of the awards, with Lav Diaz winning best director for I Predatori and the acting honors going to Khansa Batma (Zanka Contact) and Yahya Mahayni (The Man Who Sold His Skin). The Special Jury Prize went to Ana Rocha de Sousa who also won the Lion of the Future award for best debut film for Cate Blanchett and jury member Matt Dillon. Tilda Swinton, the honoree for the lifetime achievement award also brought along Pedro Almodóvar, the director of her short film The Human Voice, Oliver Stone spent three days in Venice to promote the Italian release of his memoir ‘Chasing the Light“, Diego Boneta shared a special award with Blanchett, Mads Mikkelsen showed up to help his film, Jim Broadbent gave interviews for The Duke, and so did Katherine Waterston who stars with Vanessa Kirby in George Clooney arriving at the Excelsior landing to howling fans and screaming paparazzi.